Oops
by The Alien of Pluto
Summary: Title is sarcastic. If you look close in the episode 'The Key', when Piper first uses the Binding on Aerrow, it looks like she almost pushes out his soul. A fic based on that observation.


**_If you look close, when Piper first uses the Binding on Aerrow, it looks like she almost pushes his soul out. I have no idea where this came from, but _viola!**

_**This starts right in the middle of the episode, right after Cyclonis finally gets the Key. If you don't remember what happens in episode 50, or haven't seen it yet, then first: shame on you! Go watch it! And second: Go watch it ayway, refresh your mind.**_

_**Warning: this is totally **_**weird_, and dark, and contains character death. (That's a first for me, huh?)_**

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"At last!" Cyclonis hissed in triumph, clutching the Key tight within the thin frame of her fingers.

"NO!" Piper yelled. How could she have let this happen? This- this new power, it had failed her. The Oracle had said they were the ultimate guardians of Atmos, but _she_ had failed. Cyclonis had been too strong…

"Enough games," she heard from behind her, "It's _over_."

Hearing the Dark Ace's words, the finality they carried, stirred something within her. She felt the power come back; different, stronger than she'd ever felt it, rising with her hopeless frustration. She had lost her battle, now she could not let Aerrow lose his.

"Leave him _**alone**_!" Piper whipped around, throwing the power out from herself with all the force she could muster. It wanted to listen, it didn't fight, it was eager. It came out too strong.

The thick, blue beam of pure power erupted from her hands, flying across the chamber to hit Aerrow square in the back. He was thrown forward by the force, but the energy seemed to pass through him after that, balling up and hovering uselessly by the floor.

What happened next didn't sit quite clearly in her memory.

It _seemed_ almost like Aerrow hesitated, giving the Dark Ace enough time to swing his blade at the boy's head and then run out with his Master. But, standing frozen on the Oracle's dais, replaying the scene in her mind, it looked more like Aerrow had crumpled to the ground milliseconds before the Dark Ace's sword had cut the air he'd just occupied.

Either way, he wasn't standing now.

Piper felt her limbs unlock, and she raced over to her fallen Sky Knight, completely ignoring the blue ball of energy still hovering by the floor.

"Aerrow? Aerrow?" she cried, throwing herself to her knees by his side. She stared into his open, unblinking eyes, and just _knew_, even before she'd checked his pulse.

And then, off to the side she heard a faint whisper, _"P-Piper?"_

"_Aerrow?_" It wasn't even a whisper, wasn't even a breath. She couldn't speak as she turned disbelievingly to stare at the ball of energy as it slowly unraveled and took the shape of her friend.

The brighter blue faded to a faint glow, leaving his form as it always had been, only very, _very_ transparent. Faint green eyes stared hard into orange as the apparition picked itself up and crept to her side.

'_I'm dead,'_ said a very confused and echoing version of Aerrow's voice.

Piper swallowed hard, "I-I guess…"

'_You- heh, you killed me!' _the spirit whispered in awe.

"What! No! I didn't-! I wouldn't-! Aerrow, the Dark Ace-!"

'_He missed. He was too late…You killed me.' _He repeated.

"But I didn't do-"

The spirit laughed, and it sounded wrong, too cold, too bitter. _'The power, the energy…ha, ha, you pushed my soul right out me! Ha!'_

Piper retched. She couldn't handle this. She hadn't killed him! She hadn't! It wasn't possible….it- it was absurd!

She dry heaved again, spinning away from his body and away from his soul.

A glimmer of purple caught her eye; her Warp crystal, lying abandoned by Cyclonis amid the rubble.

'_Piper,'_ the Aerrow-spirit said with a strange finality, _'You _Killed_ Me.'_

"I…I know…Oh, Aerrow, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she wailed, flailing through her tears to grab the Warp crystal, and at the same time, snatch up Aerrow's body's cooling wrist. She willed them back to Bogaton, to the Terradon's lab, and they disappeared with a brilliant flash of violet energy.

They reappeared before the blueprint, Piper still wailing out her apologies, Aerrow still as stone. The others didn't know what to think for a minute, so shocked were they by this unexpected appearance. And then it hit, like a sledge hammer wielded by the chief of Wallop, each of them what must have happened. They crowded around him, tears filling their eyes, spewing out choked denials about how Aerrow can't be gone. Somehow, Piper was forced out of the fray, ending up backed against the giant chalkboard.

'_Aren't you going to tell them?_

Piper nearly jumped out of her skin, barely stifling a scream as the cold, echoing voice that used to be Aerrow's suddenly spoke from beside her.

'_Or were you waiting 'till later?' _

She turned to see him leaning casually, calmly, against the blueprint-covered chalkboard. He was staring at her, his expression neutral, but something in his eyes was laughing at her. She couldn't speak, couldn't get words passed the choking lump in her throat.

'_What,'_ he asked, eyes roaming her terrified face, _'thought you'd left me back there? Thought I'd stay and haunt the place you killed me in?'_

"I…I…" She'd kind of hoped, yes, that she'd leave this transparent, bitter version of Aerrow at the Forbidden City while the Storm Hawks gave his body a proper burial. She'd kind of hoped, yes, that a nice burial would satisfy him, and the spirit would move on. Something was telling her that wasn't quite the case.

He was suddenly right next to her, his shoulder touching hers, chilling her to the bone. He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, _'I can't leave Piper. _**I**_ haven't died. I've simply been ripped from my body with no hope of being put back. That gives me a long time here, and I'm not gonna waste that.'_

Piper leaned away from him, this horrible, threatening, distorted version of her best friend, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to force away the chill he'd inflicted on her. Aerrow…her gaze drifted back to his body, lying still and empty on the concrete floor. She'd done that to him. It was all her fault! She felt tears well up in her eyes and threw her hands over her face as she sobbed.

'_You know, Piper,'_ his voice was clear, calm, unaffected by any of the crying going on around him, _'You were my best friend, and I think, at some point I was going to work up the courage to tell you how much I liked you. And I mean _liked_, as in more than friends. I wanted nothing more than to spend quality time with you. And now?'_

Sometime during his talking, Piper had moved her hands from her face, and now she saw him shake his head as if in regret. Then he turned piercing green eyes on her, locking her, freezing her in place,

'_And now I've got nothing else to do. I can stay with you forever Piper, all day and all night. We can talk. About you, about me, about the war…about how you killed me. Yeah, I think I like that topic. We can talk forever and ever, Piper, forever and ever.' _

"Piper? Piper!" Finn's shaky, sniffling voice broke the icy spell of his eyes, "I asked what happened."

'_Are you gonna tell them Piper? I can't. They can't see or hear me. But you can, because you did this to me. And even if they never find out, I will _**never **_let you forget what you did to me.'_

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_**I have nothing else to say...**_


End file.
